The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[Pullet Surprise]

Guess what guys? I have a second girl laying! Last Monday I had my first egg, and have an egg every day since. Today when I went to open the coop door and set feed, I saw an egg sitting on the floor under the roosts. Wonder if it was laid from there? Good thing for a thick bed of shavings underneath! I know I sound like such a silly newbie,, but I am so happy to have another one laying now! It is quite narrow, and quite small... here it is next to the other egg,, which looks the same every day! Do certain breeds lay certain colors? Or is it just individual. I know breeds like Marans and of course blue and green egg layers lay distinctive colors.. but from my two eggs, you can see there is quite a shade difference. Can someone tell from just looking at regular brown eggs?

I think the best way to describe it is that different breeds lay different colors and then the individual chicken lays her individual color within the breed color. Congrats on #2 laying!!!

 

[Leahs Mom]

Yay!!! On the egg under the roost...I had ONE of those when mine first started laying...but only one. At first I was thinking that was going to continue but it didn't.

I have a theory but not sure it's true. I'm thinking that since egg laying is so new to them they sometimes don't realize it's imminent and then, plop! Then with a little experience, they know to get to the box before it's too late!

Anyone else have an idea/experience on this?

 

[aoxa]

Guess what guys? I have a second girl laying! Last Monday I had my first egg, and have an egg every day since. Today when I went to open the coop door and set feed, I saw an egg sitting on the floor under the roosts. Wonder if it was laid from there? Good thing for a thick bed of shavings underneath! I know I sound like such a silly newbie,, but I am so happy to have another one laying now! It is quite narrow, and quite small... here it is next to the other egg,, which looks the same every day! Do certain breeds lay certain colors? Or is it just individual. I know breeds like Marans and of course blue and green egg layers lay distinctive colors.. but from my two eggs, you can see there is quite a shade difference. Can someone tell from just looking at regular brown eggs?

Different breeds lay different colours, but there is usually some variation per hen. Not with my EEs. Not at all... All four are identical.

I had a hen just lay an egg beside the water in the snow. When you gotta lay, you gotta lay.

I always thought Barred Rocks laid light brown eggs. Well my heritage strain lays a medium brown (closing in on the dark). I also think different strains of the breed lay different shades.

Just my theories.

Also, new layers and hens starting to lay after a molt will lay darker than they will a bit later. I've heard it described as a toner running low on ink. I've seen it myself. It's so gradual you won't even notice until they take a break and start again.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Oh...and the colors...I have RIR and BR that both lay brown but the RIR are darker, richer brown than the BR so I can always tell which breeds are laying by the tint.

 

[aoxa]

Yay!!! On the egg under the roost...I had ONE of those when mine first started laying...but only one. At first I was thinking that was going to continue but it didn't.

I have a theory but not sure it's true. I'm thinking that since egg laying is so new to them they sometimes don't realize it's imminent and then, plop! Then with a little experience, they know to get to the box before it's too late!

Anyone else have an idea/experience on this?

I just posted after you. Yes I believe this.

Not always, but sometimes it does seem to happen that way. What hen in their right mind would want to lay an egg in the snow?

I've found maybe 4 on the ground since the Pennies (RSLs) started laying. One outside as well. Also found an egg a few months back beside Clem's kennel. Thought that was odd.

 

[Melabella]

Yay!!! On the egg under the roost...I had ONE of those when mine first started laying...but only one. At first I was thinking that was going to continue but it didn't.

I have a theory but not sure it's true. I'm thinking that since egg laying is so new to them they sometimes don't realize it's imminent and then, plop! Then with a little experience, they know to get to the box before it's too late!

Anyone else have an idea/experience on this?

I was wondering that, if maybe she didn't even realize it was coming, and there it went. I think it was laid very early, it was so so cold! The other girl, who ever it is.. laid in the box from the get go. She always lays in box #2 from the left as well...lol. I sure hope she starts using the box. It had beenlooked at and moved around quite a bit. DH would skeeeve if he thought eggs laid on the ground where poo is! Heavens! He wouldn't eat it.

Thanks for the congrats everyone!

 

[Melabella]

I just posted after you. Yes I believe this.

Not always, but sometimes it does seem to happen that way. What hen in their right mind would want to lay an egg in the snow?

I've found maybe 4 on the ground since the Pennies (RSLs) started laying. One outside as well. Also found an egg a few months back beside Clem's kennel. Thought that was odd.

It's like Easter at aoxa's at any given day!

 

[armorfirelady]

Guess what guys?  I have a second girl laying!  Last Monday I had my first egg, and have an egg every day since.  Today when I went to open the coop door and set feed, I saw an egg sitting on the floor under the roosts.  Wonder if it was laid from there? Good thing for a thick bed of shavings underneath!  I know I sound like such a silly newbie,, but I am so happy to have another one laying now!  It is quite narrow, and quite small... here it is next to the other egg,, which looks the same every day!  Do certain breeds lay certain colors?  Or is it just individual.  I know breeds like Marans and of course blue and green egg layers lay distinctive colors.. but from my two eggs, you can see there is quite a shade difference.  Can someone tell from just looking at regular brown eggs?

Congrats on the 2nd hen laying !! Isn't it great? I was just like u a month ago waiting patiently for eggs.

I have 4 hens all PR and each one lays a different sized & colored egg. Now I am working on figuring out who belongs to which egg lol. I have 2 hens figured out just 2 more to go

This is the pic I used to have Delisha & Aoxa figure out if all 4 were laying. I thought they were once I looked and realized I had 4 different colored/shaped eggs. They agreed. I always thought since they were all the same breed that they would lie identical eggs lol

 

[aoxa]

It's like Easter at aoxa's at any given day!

That's what my nephew says. We even have easter baskets for him to collect the eggs in.




After we collected our very first blue egg.


Interestingly enough, the baskets are also good for collecting chicks.

 

[Melabella]

Show off!